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Dynamics of Tilted Stably Stratified Square Cavities

Description
The dynamics of a stably and thermally stratified, two dimensional fluid-filled cavity are the subject of numerical study. When gravity is orthogonal to the endwalls, a closed form for a steady state solution with trivial flow may be obtained. However, as soon as the cavity is tilted the flow becomes…

The dynamics of a stably and thermally stratified, two dimensional fluid-filled cavity are the subject of numerical study. When gravity is orthogonal to the endwalls, a closed form for a steady state solution with trivial flow may be obtained. However, as soon as the cavity is tilted the flow becomes nontrivial. Previous studies have investigated when this tilt angle is 180 degrees (Rayleigh-Bénard convection), 90 degrees, and 0 degrees, or have done a sweep while solving the steady-state equations. When buoyancy is sufficiently weak the flow is stable and steady up to 90 degrees of tilt. Above a certain level of buoyancy, as measured by the temperature difference between the top and bottom walls, the flow becomes unsteady above a tilt angle less than 90 degrees. Specifically, In this study we examine the relationship between the critical tilt angle and the buoyancy level at the onset of unsteadiness, as well as the dynamical mechanisms by which it occurs.
ContributorsGrayer, Hezekiah Villarin (Author) / Lopez, Juan M. (Thesis director) / Welfert, Bruno D. (Committee member) / Shen, Jie (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05

Design, Modeling, and Optimization of a Hopping Robot Platform

Description
Laminate devices have the potential to lower the cost and complexity of robots. Taking advantage of laminate materials' flexibility, a high-performance jumping platform has been developed with the goal of optimizing jump ground clearance. Four simulations are compared in order to understand which dynamic model elements (leg flexibility, motor dynamics,…

Laminate devices have the potential to lower the cost and complexity of robots. Taking advantage of laminate materials' flexibility, a high-performance jumping platform has been developed with the goal of optimizing jump ground clearance. Four simulations are compared in order to understand which dynamic model elements (leg flexibility, motor dynamics, contact, joint damping, etc.) must be included to accurately model jumping performance. The resulting simulations have been validated with experimental data gathered from a small set of physical leg prototypes spanning design considerations such as gear ratio and leg length, and one in particular was selected for the fidelity of performance trends against experimental results. This simulation has subsequently been used to predict the performance of new leg designs outside the initial design set. The design predicted to achieve the highest jump ground clearance was then built and tested as a demonstration of the usefulness of this simulation.
ContributorsKnaup, Jacob W (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sugar, Thomas (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05